As veteran readers will appreciate, I am very dismayed with shoot-from-the-hip history--"even" or "especially" in books aimed at child readers. After 7 years of professional training in Early American History and 28 years of teaching it, I still must consult and re-search a huge personal library of primary and secondary sources, supplemented with the latest and best Web offerings, before publishng a single word. A thorough investigation, analysis, synthesis, and reevaluation of a wide array of credible sources (repeatedly compared, questioned, and rechecked) is the only way to write history with any degree of factual accuracy. Immersing oneself in all of the essential sources (and being able to discern good from bad) is the core of the historical "enterprise," and I have learned never to trust information unless I have found it, seen it, and verified its accuracy myself. This is especially critical these days, because all of the careful copyeditors and conscientious critics seem to have become extinct. Was there a purge? "Native American Culture" is a flawed conception. because of the incredible diversity in the customs and beliefs of indigenous peoples in the Western Hemisphere, then and now. If the term is used at all, it must be pluralized. My Rant for the Day Fred Fausz St. Louis To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the instructions at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html